Back Megaponera Afrikaans نمل ماتابيلي Arabic Pachycondyla analis CEB Megaponera analis Spanish مورچههای یورشگر Persian Megaponera analis French מגפונרה HE Pachycondyla analis Italian Pachycondyla analis Dutch Megaponera analis Russian
| Megaponera | |
|---|---|
| |
| A major worker with termite prey | |
| Stridulating workers in a moving column | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Ponerinae |
| Tribe: | Ponerini |
| Genus: | Megaponera Mayr, 1862 |
| Species: | M. analis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Megaponera analis (Latreille, 1802)
| |
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Distribution
Present in country
Likely present in country
Absent from country
| |
| Synonyms | |
Megaponera analis is the sole species of the genus Megaponera.[1] They are a strictly termite-eating (termitophagous) ponerine ant species widely distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa[2] and most commonly known for their column-like raiding formation when attacking termite feeding sites. Their sophisticated raiding behaviour gave them the common name Matabele ant after the Matabele tribe, fierce warriors who overwhelmed various other tribes during the 1800s.[3] With some individuals reaching up to 25 millimetres (0.98 in) in length, M. analis is one of the world's largest ants.[4][5]
In 2014, the specific name analis, in Latin "anus-related", chosen by Latreille, replaced foetens "stinking", given by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793, because Guillaume-Antoine Olivier had given the same name Formica foetens to another species in 1792.[6] Both names allude to the fact that the mandibular gland of this ant releases dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide, which smell like human faeces.[7]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
schmidtwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Wheeler, William Morton (1936). "Ecological Relations of Ponerine and Other Ants to Termites". Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 71 (3): 159–243. doi:10.2307/20023221. JSTOR 20023221.
- ^ Wilson, Edward O. (2014). A Window on Eternity: A Biologist's Walk Through Gorongosa National Park. Simon & Schuster. p. 83. ISBN 978-1476747415.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
villetwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
the antswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Bolton, Barry. "Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World". AntWiki. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- ^ Frank, Erik (2020). Combattre, sauver, soigner. Une histoire de fourmis [Fight, Save, Cure. A Story About Ants] (in French). CNRS éditions. p. 107-109. ISBN 978-2-271-12513-2.